The invention relates to a self contained disposable coffee brewing cone. More particularly, the invention relates to a disposable coffee brew cone for brewing a single cup of coffee without the need for using traditional coffee brewing methods and apparatus.
The public's demand for fresh brewed coffee is voracious. Coffee drinkers enjoy their coffee from morning until night, at home and at work. This huge demand for fresh brewed coffee has resulted in the wide spread development and purchase of traditional coffee brewing apparatus such as the gravity-drip coffee maker. Indeed, such devices have become commonplace in most homes and offices.
However, these devices are not well suited for brewing an individual cup of coffee. Coffee must be removed from one receptacle (usually a can or vacuum packed bag) and placed in measured doses into the filter and basket housing of these traditional coffee brewing devices. This inconvenience of measuring ground coffee, cleaning up spent coffee grounds, and then cleaning the device itself can prove to be a significant deterrent to coffee drinkers who only desire a single cup of coffee. Furthermore, it is not feasible for a coffee drinker to brew an entire pot of coffee only to drink one cup, since coffee significantly loses its flavor and taste with time, and thus is not likely to be re-heated and re-used. Conversely, to brew an entire pot of coffee for only one serving proves inefficient and wasteful of expensive coffee grinds.
Because of these drawbacks, coffee drinkers have been forced to resort to the ease and convenience of products like instant coffee that provides a significantly less flavorful cup of coffee than that provided by traditional brew methods. Consumers are also forced to resort to the likes of tea-bag type coffee pouches and microwave brew pouches, such as that disclosed by U.S. Pat. No. 5,135,764 to Clausi et al. Although less time consuming and complex than traditional coffee brewing methods, these methods and apparatus also result in significant flavor loss since they usually entail submerging a coffee filled pouch into a cup of boiling water, similar to the way one would go about preparing a cup of tea. Unlike a cup of tea that may be properly prepared by immersing filter-encased tea leaves into boiling water, a proper cup of coffee can only result from dripping or percolating boiling water through coffee grinds, as is done with most home coffee machines. By simply immersing a pouch of coffee into boiling water, the water is unable to come into contact with and extract flavor from a sufficient volume of coffee grinds. The result is a weak, flavorless cup of coffee.
Coffee brewing devices present in the art have recognized these drawbacks, and have attempted unsuccessfully to remedy them. The present art discloses individual disposable brewing devices that are mounted directly on a receiving receptacle, as for example in U.S. Pat. No. 4,715,271 to Kitigawa, and U.S. Pat. No. 5,055,311 to Brauer Jr. et al. However, these devices have serious drawbacks. U.S. Pat. No. 4,715,271 to Kitigawa discloses a disposable beverage brewer comprising fixed notches along the bottom of the apparatus which are to be seated over the lip of a receiving receptacle. Because these notches are fixed, the number of receptacles that may accept this apparatus is severely limited. These notches also provide inadequate support for the device, thus causing it to be highly prone to tipping and spillage. Also, because of its triangular shape, this device fails to completely enclose the top lip of the receptacle that it is engaged with, and may leak or allow spillage on to the work surface or table.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,055,311 to Brauer Jr. et al. discloses a disposable coffee-brewing apparatus which is independent of and to be suspended above a coffee receptacle. Because this devices relies on support from the same surface that supports the coffee receptacle, it is highly prone to tipping, especially due to its high center of gravity. The force of water being poured from a height into the device can easily cause it to tip. In addition, because it operates independently of the coffee receptacle, the device does not permit the coffee receptacle to be easily moved without having to also move the device. So, for instance, one wishing to move his coffee cup from one location to another would need to find a new suitable platform large enough to support both the coffee receptacle and the device together.
While these units may be suitable for the particular purpose employed, or for general use, they would not be as suitable for the purposes of the present invention as disclosed hereafter.